Pastor's Blog

What a blessed weekend! We made it into the renovated sanctuary for the first time, and what a beautiful place it is. It was my pleasure to be a part of this piece of CLC’s history, and I’m excited about what the future will bring as we continue to worship and grow in that space. Then, we were supported by our conference as I was installed officially as your pastor and as we were recommissioned for new and vibrant ministries in the NRV. Weekly Notes+We are in the process of rescheduling the organ concert because, as you may have seen, the organ is not yet installed. It will not be on December 7th as originally planned, but will be soon, so keep an eye out for details! +Advent begins Sunday November 30th. Our Sunday morning discipleship time will focus on this question: Who is Jesus? Each week we will ask this question through different methods: Scripture, church tradition, creative arts, and community stories. We invite people of all ages to try out this new approach!+Lectionary study will move to Tuesday nights at 7pm, and take on the additional identity of being group that helps to plan worship. We will study the scriptures and use our reflections to shape our Sunday gatherings. Devotional “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” These words, on Isaiah’s lips in Chapter 64, cut to the quick of Advent. What we ask for, what we wait for – the coming of God to earth – is no easy task, is no simple supplication.

What we ask of God is to flee the stability of heaven and enter the anarchy of earth. We ask God to depart the company of angels and encounter the anarchy of humanity. We ask God to tear at the fabric of the cosmos, to rip heaven open, and expose all that perfection to our desperate imperfection.

Yet, we ask for what God has already given. As we anticipate the coming of Christ, we remember that God already chose this earthly realm despite his divine context. We ask with the assurance that God’s graceful promise came in the manger of Bethlehem and will come again into our world to restore God’s rule of justice and peace.

This week, begin your prayers with this cry, knowing that God is coming in the glory of a child: O God, tear open the heavens and come down to us.

I missed y’all this weekend! It was good to celebrate a wedding with family and two lovely people. And I loved the last two days at the conference for First Call pastors and mentors. However, I missed the life of the church around here: worship, fellowship, service, relationships, the whole gamut.

There is progress being made in the sanctuary! We’re not there yet, but we’re close. The contractor met with council last week to give us a more complete picture of the vision and timeline, so all of the leadership is in the loop at this point.

Weekly Notes+Congregational Meeting – November 16th +Installation Service – November 23rd at 3pm

Devotional I missed preaching on one of my favorite texts last week, which is Amos 5:18-24. Yep, the one that says the day of the Lord is darkness, not light. Why do I love this passage so much? Because it ends with an incredible description of God’s Kingdom, brimming with baptismal imagery. Amos declares, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

The day of the Lord is that day when God’s kingdom is finally fulfilled, when we live not by faith, but by sight. On that day, justice will crash like a waterfall, and righteousness will be as steady as the New River.

The day of the Lord is darkness for those who forego justice for selfishness, who abandon righteousness for sinfulness. Of course that day would seem dark for those people if justice is as loud as Niagara Falls, if righteousness permeates our very pores. For those who can’t stand the Kingdom of God, the day of the Lord will seem dark, even though the brightest light of all will rule: Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. Of course, we hope and pray that our witness might turn those people toward the work of the Kingdom, and to embrace the true light of God.

So, then, let our lives roar with justice. Let our lives roll on with righteousness. Let us help to show the One True Light to the world, so that the day of the Lord might be bright for all people.

What a great turnout for the play Sunday night! Paul Wee’s One Church or Many – Where Do We Go from Here? brought us closer to the events of the Reformation and our heritage as Lutherans. Perhaps more importantly, he used that opportunity to challenge us to consider what that heritage means for our witness as the church today.

Weekly Notes+I’m out of town this Sunday to take part in one of Michelle’s cousin’s weddings in Western New York. +We continue to pray for the RU community after the death of Kristin Greene, a freshman at RU. Keep the students, faculty, and staff close to your hearts.+Congregational Meeting – November 16th +Installation Service – November 23rd at 3pm

Devotional Since I won’t be preaching this week, this devotional relates more to our last two weeks together as we commemorated Reformation Sunday and All Saints’ Sunday. In particular, the question before us today is this: What does it mean to be saints who require reformation? Perhaps this is obvious, but we’re not all perfect. Shocking, I know. But we are all meant to live what Jesus calls abundant life. This means a lot of things, but in the wake of Reformation and All Saints, part of what strikes me is this: abundant life is not governed by death. We live not fearing the end of our existence, but rather embracing the newness of life found on the other side of death. Why? Because we have been crucified with Christ. In our baptisms, we were united with Christ in a death like His, and in those waters, we are also united with Him in the resurrection life. Abundant life recognizes that death, while still a reality in our lives, does not have the last word. Sin, while still a force to be reckoned with, will not rule the day. Sin has lost its power, and death has lost its sting, so we may live life abundant.

As we go forward as a church together – as God continues to transform us into the image and likeness of Christ – we are called to live an abundant life, one full of recklessly selfless blessing, of radical inclusiveness. To be saints who require reformation is to be constantly pursuing abundant life, to live baptismal life in the face of death. And I’m so excited to do that with you all at CLC.